Exclusive: Azarenka's trainer on how to get in shape

Jean-Pierre Bruyere

Saturday, 14 April 2012

Victoria Azarenka’s fitness trainer, Jean-Pierre Bruyere, tells you how to get in shape for tennis:

The quality of your work-out is more important than the quantity
“I think the problem for many amateurs is that they focus too much on the quantity of what they’re doing – ‘I’ve just done 300 sit-ups and 300 push-ups’ – than on the quality. It’s better to do 10 push-ups properly than to do 300 badly. You should focus on getting it right, and then maybe building up the numbers. A lot of amateurs go to their gyms, and pay their money, and I’m sure they are very dedicated, and they work hard, but they find that they’re not getting stronger or getting faster. That’s because they need to think about the quality of their work.

“They need to ask the fitness professional at their gyms or clubs about exactly how to do something. You should ask, ‘where should I be feeling this?’ If you’re feeling in that place, but also somewhere else, you’re not doing it right. Professional tennis players like Victoria and like Andy Murray are geniuses at playing tennis, but they also train properly. It’s about having the eyes and understanding that you’re doing everything right.”

Have fun
“If you are bored, you’re not going to get the results you want, so try to find something you enjoy to get you moving. Victoria likes playing with a frisbee – you can do it slowly, or quickly, or make it curve. Others like playing football, so play football. Try to enjoy it. Do what you like. Yes, there are going to be times when you have to do what you don’t enjoy, but try to make this as fun as possible. If you want to, listen to music. Victoria likes music – I think she’s learning to sing at the moment.”

Do what’s best for you
“There’s no point imposing a programme on someone or on yourself. You have to do what you really need to do and you have to understand why you are doing it. What’s your goal? To get stronger, to get faster? Identify what you need to do. I think players have targets in their own minds about what they want to achieve, why they are doing this. Victoria wanted to win a grand slam and become the world number one, and she achieved that. Maybe an amateur player wants to beat the regular guy he plays against. He’s fed up with losing to the same guy, and wants to do something about it. That’s a good target to have.”

Improve your whole body, not just one area
“My philosophy is that it’s best to improve the whole body, rather than one area. Others maybe disagree on that.”

Eat the best food you can
“I don’t like the word diet. So don’t think of this as a diet. Just try to eat fresh food, and the best food you can get. Try to avoid pre-cooked food and junk food. Nutrition is a complex thing, and people will give you different advice such as ‘don’t eat carbs’, ‘only eat protein’, but I think those diets can be dangerous.”

Danton3

I didn’t learn anything by reading this. Just sayin

Mark Underwood

That’s because your mind is closed, there is not enough room for him to go in great depth here, just look what he has done for the beautiful Vika, don’t focus on volume & weight, focus on quality reps, enjoy your workout & eat a quality balanced diet.